Severe weather warnings are set to come into place this weekend as Cyclone Vaianu bears down on New Zealand.

Coromandel and parts of the Bay of Plenty are expected to be the worst-affected, though no part of the North Island will escape unscathed, forecasters warn.

A state of emergency has been declared for Northland as at 5pm, for an initial period of seven days, as part of the regional response.

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The first warnings will be in effect from late Saturday night in Northland, before Vaianu makes its way south.

Most of the rain and winds will hit on Sunday, reaching the upper South Island by early afternoon.

A fourth person has been found dead as a result of New Zealand’s catastrophic floods on Friday, which have now spread to other parts of the country.

Police said in a statement that Search and Rescue, who had been looking for a person swept away by floodwaters in Waikato’s Onewhero, had found a man’s body.

Formal identification is yet to take place, but police believe it is the missing man.

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• GALLERY: Massive volunteer effort in tackling Auckland’s floods
• Other Asia Pacific Report coverage of Auckland’s flooding
• Follow RNZ live news updates

The body was found by a drone operator, about one km from where he went missing.

“Police have been overwhelmed by the way the community has rallied around and gone above and beyond to assist with the search,” the statement said.

“Locals have offered their time and effort, food, and support to others around them at this extremely difficult time.”

At a media conference this afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the death of four people was “horrific”.

‘Traumatic experience’
“I think it’s been a traumatic experience … That’s the most horrific part of it that we’ve lost lives.

“Clearly alongside every Aucklander and New Zealander we share in our condolences and sadness with that person’s family.”

In previous media conferences, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins had also passed on their condolences to the families of those who have died.

Earlier today, police named 34-year-old Daniel Mark Miller as another victim of the floods.

Miller was found dead in a culvert on Target Road in Wairau Valley on Friday.

“Police extend their sympathies to his family and friends.”

Another person was found dead after a landslide brought down a house on Remuera’s Shore Rd.

MOTAT volunteer
RNZ understands that the man was a beloved volunteer at Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT), Dave Lennard.

Friends are paying tribute to him on social media.

Stuff reports that Lennard, in his 80s, was much loved at MOTAT.

“He was one of those guys who could make anything and teach himself how to use new equipment with ease,” friend Evan James told Stuff.

A fourth person was also found dead in a flooded carpark on Link Drive, Wairau Valley at 12.30am on Saturday morning.

All deaths will be referred to the coroner, police said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Countdown to Chaos: As Aucklanders were desperately seeking safety, officials were silent https://t.co/9UJfoke7XQ

— RNZ News (@rnz_news) January 29, 2023

The belt of torrential rain which has brought flooding and slips across northern New Zealand is currently mainly centred over the Waikato and Waitomo district.

But it is also reaching northern Taranaki and parts of the upper South Island.

A train was derailed in Te Puke due to heavy rain.

• READ MORE: Auckland floods a future sign – city needs stormwater systems fit for climate change
• GALLERY: Massive volunteer effort in tackling Auckland’s floods
• NZ’s first climate adaptation plan is a good start, but crucial questions about cost and timing must be answered
• With seas rising and storms surging, who will pay for New Zealand’s most vulnerable coastal properties?
• Other Asia Pacific Report coverage of Auckland’s flooding
• Follow RNZ live news updates

Residents in already hard-hit areas like Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty are on watch for thunderstorms and more heavy rain.

MetService now says there could be heavy rain and thunderstorms as far south as the Marlborough Sounds and the Rai Valley as well as Tasman.

It has put in place heavy rain warnings for Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Mount Taranaki, Marlborough Sounds and Tasman northwest of Motueka.

In other developments:

• At least three people have died and one person is still missing after slips and heavy flooding in Auckland
• A train has derailed in Te Puke due to rain on the tracks.
• Auckland and now Waitomo are under a state of emergency
• Heavy rain has completely cut off Coromandel and hit Bay of Plenty overnight
• A house has collapsed in Tauranga but no injuries were reported.
• An Interislander ferry lost power in Cook Strait but managed to restart its engines and arrived in Wellington about 9pm on Saturday

Officials say people in immediate danger should call 111, keep an eye on social media, and evacuate to a nearby shelter if they need.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Radar update: thunderstorm bringing heavy rain to Pukekohe

Keep an eye on the radar at https://t.co/7k3nmeeZKF

Severe Weather info https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/F97wV6fpU9

— MetService (@MetService) January 28, 2023

The calls for New Zealanders to get vaccinated are becoming more urgent by the day as covid-19 embeds itself in the community.

Two people have now died in the latest outbreak, the number of daily cases remains in the double figures and the virus continues to spread outside Auckland.

The government has announced a nationwide immunisation push for October 16 — dubbed Super Saturday — but one of Auckland’s leading Māori vaccinators is questioning what it will achieve.

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Te Whānau o Waipareira runs two mass vaccination centres, and has given tens of thousands of Aucklanders their Pfizer shots.

Chief executive John Tamihere said the first he heard of Super Saturday was when Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced it at a media conference, saying it would be like election day, with clinics open all day and into the night

Tamihere said that would not cut it when it came to getting vaccine stragglers.

“They won’t necessarily turn up, the ones they are endeavouring to target. We have to go out into the streets and take each suburb street by street and to do that you’ve got to know where you’re sending and deploying your resources,” Tamihere said.

More resources rather than big show
“We would probably put a lot more resource into that campaign as opposed to big show days.”

The Ministry of Health today reported 29 new cases of covid-19 in the community, including five in Waikato.

Speaking at today’s government briefing, Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said seven of the new cases in Auckland were yet to be linked to earlier cases, all of the Waikato cases were linked.

Yesterday, the death of a 57-year-old man from covid-19 was reported, along with 39 new cases in the community. Nine of those were in Waikato.

There have now been 22 cases in Waikato in the current outbreak.

One previous community case has been reclassified as under investigation, bringing the total cases in the outbreak to 1448.

There were also two cases detected in MIQ reported today.

7000 receive drive-through dose
But the recent six-day vaccination event at Vodafone Events Centre is being hailed a success after 7000 people received a drive-through dose.

Among them, many church members of the Assemblies of God Church of Sāmoa who know first-hand the harsh reality of the virus.

A father of seven who lost his battle with covid yesterday was a deacon at the church, and his wife is also in hospital with the disease.

Church spokesperson Jerome Mika said the community was grieving.

He said many members had been vaccinated at the drive-through event in the past few days which was a success due to the many community groups that had supported it.

“Community willingness to be able to just support and encourage their family members to come and get vaccinated.”

The experts agree.

Māori and Pacific leaders a must
Victoria University of Wellington immunologist Diane Sika-Paotonu said to be effective, any vaccination campaign must include Māori and Pacific leaders.

“They’re not just being called in right at the end to help make things work but rather they’re involved right from the outset at the design stage of any activities, events and interventions that are being planned.”

But one group argues they need the right information for that model to work.

Tamihere also heads the North Island’s Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency.

It is taking the Ministry of Health to court for refusing to hand over health data for all Māori that he said was vital to closing the “dangerous gap” in the vaccination rates.

It sits at just over 57 percent for a first dose compared with 81 percent of Pākehā.

“Tai Tokerau is way behind, the Bay of Plenty is way behind. These are Māori communities. It’s not that they’re stupid and dumb, it’s that they’re poorer and their priorities are different and it takes time to reach them.”

The Ministry of Health said it could not share the data because many of the people were not enrolled with Whānau Ora so officials were not authorised to hand it over.

The ministry will release information today on the most and least vaccinated suburbs in the country.

Yesterday 63,000 people were vaccinated as rates climb again after a month long dip.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New Zealanders need to pitch in for a final push to get as many people vaccinated as possible, says the Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins, who has announced a new “national day of action” for vaccinations.

Hipkins and Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay gave today’s update on the fight against covid-19.

There were 39 new community cases in New Zealand today — including nine in Waikato — although just one is not yet linked to earlier cases.

• READ MORE: Other NZ covid lockdown reports

There were 24 community cases yesterday.

Half of eligible Kiwis have been vaccinated and at least 85 percent of Aucklanders have received at least one dose.

But Hipkins said everyone had a role to to play in getting vaccination rates up, and he wanted those already vaccinated to help those who had not been to get a dose.

“This will culminate in a national day for vaccination on Saturday 16 October — Super Saturday.

“On that day, we will have vaccine clinics open all through Aotearoa all day and into the evening and a bit like election day, we will be asking all our civic and political leaders to contribute to a big effort to turn people out.”

Tomorrow, maps showing suburbs with lowest vaccination rates will be published.

Watch the briefing

Video: RNZ News

“This will be helping local iwi, who have been pushing for this, our local communities, and our local MPs to work together to mobilise their communities.”

A website will be going live later today with information about the Saturday event.

“My request to everybody is this: Pitch in and get this done.”

Hipkins said the new cases outside the Auckland border were “stark reminder of how tricky the virus can be”.

“Our strategy to date of keeping covid-19 out has served us well, but we can’t keep doing that forever,” he said.

“As the prime minister said on Monday, getting back to zero cases of covid-19 in the community is unlikely. We need to prepare for a gradual transition to the next phase of our covid-19 response.”

At yesterday’s 1pm briefing, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Cabinet had agreed to the use of vaccine certificates in New Zealand.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Auckland’s move to alert level 3 has also triggered speculation about whether the national covid-19 elimination strategy has failed or is even being abandoned. While the New Zealand government denies it, others clearly believe it is at least a possibility.

The uncertainty is troubling. If elimination fails or is abandoned, it would suggest we have not learnt the lessons of history, particularly when it comes to our more vulnerable populations.

In 1918, the mortality rate among Māori from the influenza pandemic was eight times that of Europeans. The avoidable introduction of influenza to Samoa from Aotearoa resulted in the deaths of about 22 percent of the population.

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Similar observations were seen in subsequent influenza outbreaks in Aotearoa in 1957 and 2009 for both Māori and Pasifika people. These trends are well known and documented.

And yet, despite concerns we could see the same thing happen again, there have been repeated claims that an elimination strategy cannot succeed. Some business owners, politicians and media commentators have called for a change in approach that would see Aotearoa “learn to live with the virus”.

This is premature and likely to expose vulnerable members of our communities to the disease. Abandoning the elimination strategy while vaccine coverage rates remain low among the most vulnerable people would be reckless and irresponsible.

In short, more Māori and Pasifika people would die.

Far better will be to stick to the original plan that has served the country well, lift vaccination coverage rates with more urgency, and revise the strategy when vaccination rates among Māori and Pasifika people are as high as possible — no less than 90 percent.

Least worst options
After 18 months of dealing with the pandemic, it’s important to remember that Aotearoa’s response has been based on sound science and strong political leadership. The elimination strategy has proved effective at home and been admired internationally.

Of course, it has come with a price. In particular, the restrictions have had a major impact on small businesses and personal incomes, student life and learning, and well-being in general.

Many families have needed additional food parcels and social support, and there are reports of an increasing incidence of family harm.

The latest delta outbreak has also seen the longest level 4 lockdown in Auckland, with at least two further weeks at level 3, and there is no doubt many people are struggling to cope with the restrictions. The “long tail” of infections will test everyone further.

There is no easy way to protect the most vulnerable people from the life-threatening risk of covid-19, and the likely impact on the public health system if it were to get out of control. The alternative, however, is worse.

We know Māori and Pasifika people are most at risk of infection from covid-19, of being hospitalised and of dying from the disease.

Various studies have confirmed this, but we also must acknowledge why — entrenched socioeconomic disadvantage, overcrowded housing and higher prevalence of underlying health conditions.

More than 50 percent of all new cases in the current outbreak are among Pasifika people and the number of new cases among Māori is increasing. If and when the pandemic is over, the implications of these socioeconomic factors must be part of any review of the pandemic strategy.

Lowest vaccination rates, highest risk
Furthermore, the national vaccination rollout has again shown up the chronic entrenched inequities in the health system. While the rollout is finally gaining momentum, with more and better options offered by and for Māori and Pasifika people, their comparative vaccination rates have lagged significantly.

Community leaders and health professionals have long called for Māori and Pasifika vaccination to be prioritised. But the official rhetoric has not been matched by the reality, as evidenced by our most at-risk communities still having the lowest vaccination coverage rates in the country.

Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā (the National Māori Pandemic Group) and the Pasifika Medical Association have repeatedly called for their communities to be empowered and resourced to own, lead and deliver vaccination rollouts in ways that work for their communities.

Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā have also said Auckland should have remained at level 4, with the border extended to include the areas of concern in the Waikato.

As has been pointed out by those closest to those communities, however, their advice has consistently not been heeded. The resulting delays only risk increasing the need for the kinds of lockdowns and restrictions everyone must endure until vaccination rates are higher.

There is a reason we do not hear many voices in Māori and Pasifika communities asking for an end to elimination. Left unchecked, covid-19 disproportionately affects minority communities and the most vulnerable.

“Living with the virus” effectively means some people dying with it. We know who many of them would be.

Dr Collin Tukuitonga is associate dean Pacific and associate professor of public health, University of Auckland. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.